She always Smiles Rewritten
by Silverchild of the winds
Summary: Botan's job is hard, but she keeps a cheery outlook. Now, an encounter with a new enemy brings her past back to haunt her. I first wrote this years ago, It's now more detailed, and much better. Old version is up until I finish rewrite.
1. Chapter 1

Her job was far from easy. Everyday millions of people died. Some of them accepted death; others were merely confused, most held a mixture of sorrow and resentment.

This particular death could have been the repeat of the one that had led to her meeting with all of her closest friends. The car was there and had hit a little boy. Only this time there was no juvenile delinquent with a hero complex to give his life for the other. This time the boy had truly died.

Botan checked her book, Simon Caraway, Seven years old, American born, hit by a speeding car. The damage to his body was extensive, broken spine, shattered leg, internal bleeding, and other things. Yes, she was on time.

She watched as the soul separated itself from the broken body. He watched in fear and confusion as the paramedics arrived and then pronounced that nothing could be done. Being very young, he soon got bored with watching strangers load his body into an ambulance, and began to look around. He took in the fact that he was floating about sixty feet above the ground, and that there was a blue haired young woman also observing the scene.

He fixed his eyes on her, "Who are you"

"Name's Botan, nice to meet'cha, I'm a pilot on the River Styx" she felt no need to tell him that she was the Grim Reaper. He'd figure it out soon enough---if he realized that he was dead that is.

Luck was on her side, "Are you dead too?"

She smiled and nodded, "I'm here to take you to heaven"

"I see an oar but there's no boat. How can you be a pilot without a boat?"

She just giggled and motioned for him to hop on to the oar behind her. He obeyed and she began flying towards the spirit world. At first, Simon found the ride exhilarating, Botan flew fast and used motions that reminded him pleasantly of a roller coaster ride, but the novelty soon wore off. He began to cry,

"What's wrong?'

"I miss my Mommy, I want to go back"

"Come here," She gave him a hug, and let him sob into her kimono. Separating families always bothered her, but death was death and there was no turning back. Eventually he stopped sobbing, "I can't go back can I?"

"No" Botan had to remain undisturbed or he would never accept fate. She kept smiling as he asked for another ride, and she gave it to him, before they arrived at Koenma's palace. Once there she transferred the soul to the underworld authorities with slight difficulty (Simon had taken a liking to her and wouldn't let go of her hand,) before speeding off to cheer other souls to the Rekai.

Most of them were not as accepting as Simon. Eventually though, they all took comfort in her cheery attitude. If the Grim Reaper was a happy girl, then death couldn't be so bad. Unfortunately, no such comfort existed for the living, and Botan heard them curse her every single time she led a loved one to the safety of the spirit realm.

She was tired; Simon had been the fiftieth soul she'd had to ferry in a twenty-four hour time span. At least now, nineteen hours and eighty-six souls later, Rekai didn't measure time in any way she had ever been able to figure out, she had a break, her first in over a month. It had been an unusually slow day in terms of deaths, and she was grateful. She could not have handled much more.

Totally drained, Botan lay upon her bed and was just beginning to relax when the bell that demanded her presence at her other job rang. She sat up with a sigh, she loved Yusuke, she really did but the boy managed to get in more trouble than anyone she'd ever met.

After checking with Koenma, Botan knew that it was a routine mission gone wrong. Thieve had taken s device that allowed the user to shift any sort of area, granting access or lack of it as the user wished.

He hadn't said how it had gone wrong, but after being in spot the compass pointed for nearly an hour and being unable to find the team, she guessed that the thieved had used the item so that after the team found their lair, getting out of it was nearly impossible. She was worried that she would never be able to locate them when she heard a familiar battle cry.

"Spirit Gun!" Loud cursing followed it. Obviously, the Tantai's battle was not going well. The sounds of battle got louder and more desperate as Botan followed the noise and arrived at a solid mountainside. She recalled the properties of the stolen item, and walked into the cave at the very second Hiei unleashed the black dragon. That worried her, if Hiei had needed to use that attack---well one or more of her friends was probably hurt.

With a sigh, she used some of her already drained spirit energy to change back into her non-corporal form and back again once, she was inside. A quick scan of the area showed her that her friends were not in good shape.

Kuwabara was unhurt but he looked exhausted. He managed an extra burst of Ki, and took used his sword to take out his opponent. He cringed when the demon literally sizzled and then melted. He'd finished taking out the demons in his area, so he ran to help Kurama with his group. Kuwabara jumped over the puddle of demon on the ground, and Botan noticed that he wasn't as unhurt as she'd thought. His hands were covered with acid burns.

Kurama was breathing heavily; he'd taken another slash in his midsection. Even so, his whip shredded demons to pieces of oozing purple, which he avoided with his dancer's grace. Still the body has its limits and the fox was starting to falter.

Hiei's dragon vaporized the majority of the Yokai in there. This must have been the lair of a sizable clan of demons because even that did not destroy them all.

Yusuke's shot gun wiped out the last of them. The detective grinned, but all humor vanish from his face, when he saw that although the enemy was defeated, the purple acid was still splashing around, and Kurama's strength was about to give out. He grabbed the fox and placed him safely against the wall, wincing in pain as he did so.

Botan gasped when she saw the damage. The skin on Yusuke's right hand looked melted off. White bone and blood was plain to see. Knowing the spirit detective, he'd tried to punch the demons out before switching to spirit energy.

She healed it as quickly as possible, the other's injuries would heal on their own (Kurama was already healing his) but that hand, well Yusuke was lucky that his assistant was versed in the healing arts or he would have lost it. Repairing the damaged muscles and blood vessels took some time, so that by the time Botan was finished, Hiei and Kuwabara had managed to reach them.

Hiei sank back against the wall, drained from using the darkness technique. Kuwabara, being the only one left healthy had gone to retrieve the stolen artifact. He returned, holding a disk like item in one hand.

"Is this the device? It looks pathetic."

"How should I know? Toddler never tells us anything." Yusuke grumbled.

"You never listen anyway," "Master Koenma doesn't like to waste time giving you details you never remember. Yes, that's it." Botan's hands shook, but she gave the disk a harsh twist and the solid stone to her left opened up to reveal the cavern opening.

Before the Tantai could escape, the thieves ring leader showed up.

This one was humanoid in appearance. He wore tattered pants, greasy black hair that fell to his waist, and a half-moon necklace. He ignored the boys completely; instead, he fixed his ice-cold amber eyes upon Botan, who went pale.

"So Jenna" he said, "Long time, No see."

His predatory gaze remained fixed on Botan, so he didn't notice the Rei-gun streaming towards him until he took it straight to the face. The blast knocked the demon out. Job done, Yusuke turned towards Botan to ask what that had been about. The question died on his lips when she fell forward in a dead faint.

Instead, he asked, "Is She Okay?"

Kurama understood the unspoken order and immediately performed a medical check. "It seems she overexerted herself."

Chocolate eyes took in the slightly pained way the fox was standing, Kuwabara's sweating figure, and Hiei, still lethargic from using the dragon.

"She's not the only one. Can you guys even make it home?"

"You worry too much, Urameshi"

Taking that as an affirmative, Yusuke scooped Botan into his arms and began walking home. He was puzzled by his friend's reaction to the demon's few words, but chose not to dwell on it. Her immediate well-being was of more concern, and besides, thinking never had been his strong suit.


	2. Chapter 2

The weary girl stopped to take a break. "You should go back" she to told herself. However, going back would mean facing a town that didn't care for her, that called her cursed. It wasn't Jenna's fault that she'd been born with blue hair and purple eyes. It also wasn't her fault that she'd survived the epidemic that had decimated the town when she was ten, but those things made her a useful scapegoat for anything that went wrong.

Even with the glares that she felt all too keenly, Jenna was a cheerful girl. She was well versed in herb lore, and more than one of the people around her owed her a life. Indeed, when things were going well, she was well liked by her town, but a series of hard winters, diseases, and bad harvests had been running for years. Many of the people, including her own father, blamed Jenna for their misfortune.

And now her parents were marrying her off to a total stranger. She'd been told repeatedly that she was lucky to have a husband at all, demon child that she was. That comment had hurt more than Jenna would ever care to admit. She had decided to run away, and so she had.

Footsore and hungry, she regretted her impulsive decision. Arranged marriages were not unusual, and at sixteen, well, it was high time for her to marry. Jenna decided to go back home and face whatever life had in store for her. No doubt, the people in her town would be glad to see the last of her, but there was always the hope that she could build a good life with her future husband. Unfortunately, she had wandered into a very thick forest, and had no idea how to get home.

She sank down onto a mossy carpet to sleep, without bothering to take off her thick, woolen, skirt or her green bodice, even though her plain chemise would have been much more comfortable alone, and knew nothing for several hours. When she awoke, she was inside of a roomy log cabin. It had started to rain outside, so assuming some kind soul had taken pity on her and brought her here; the girl went searching for her rescuer in order to thank him.

She didn't need to look far, there was a man walking inside with a load of firewood. He wore his black hair down to his waist, And despite the fact that it was November, his only clothing was a nice pair of leather breeches, and a half-moon necklace.

Jenna had every intent of thanking him, but the cold lust in his amber eyes repulsed her. "I must go; my family is waiting for me." She managed to stammer.

"Oh, really, your parents were quite willing to give you to me in marriage. You just found me before you were supposed to. I doubt they have any objection to an early wedding.

"Prove it" Jenna snarled, although she had no doubt it was true. Her father had wanted to get rid of her for years. He had never forgiven her for living through the illnesses that had taken his three sons.

"Well, my dear, you slept for a long time. While you were out, I made arrangements with your father. He agreed that I could marry you now."

He grabbed her by the wrist, and led her to a small shrine, where a hasty marriage ceremony was performed. Before the bride could catch her breath, she was dragged back to the cabin. All that was left was to consummate the marriage.

He took her that very night. Violently. Jenna shook with fear when she realized that her new husband wouldn't hesitate to use teeth and claws. Wait a minute---Claws?!

"You aren't human!" she managed the gasp.

"I am insulted that you would think I was, even if it did make this easier."

"What are you"?

"A demon" He said a word that Jenna did not understand, and his amulet began to glow.

The rest of the night passed in a blur of fear and pain. The demon took pleasure in every whimper, every cry. The touch of his claws on her neck would have been a gentle caress if they hadn't torn the skin to bits.

Once satisfied, the demon vanished from the house, leaving his terrified wife behind. Neither of them knew that come morning, Jenna would have a visitor.

Her name was Lily, and she loved her sister very much. She had been working at her rigid-heddle loom, weaving a hair ribbon for Jenna, when this stranger had asked her father for Jenna's hand in marriage. She'd immediately sensed that something was off about the man, so as soon as she'd finished her task and escaped her mother's eyes, she had set off to follow him.

Lily had not had any trouble following the sense of wrongness, and the trail had ended at this cabin where the wrongness felt like it smothered her. Nevertheless, it also held a sense of Peonies and laughter that she had long ago come to think of as Jenna's Aura. Feeling that her sister was in trouble, Lily tried the door, and was surprised to find that it opened easily.

She was used to her sister being strong and always laughing. Even whippings that would have left Lily in tears, their father was by no means gentle, caused only a momentary lapse in Jenna's smile. As far as the little girl was concerned, if Jenna couldn't smile, then the world would end.

Therefore, she was troubled when she walked into the cabin to see Jenna on the bed sobbing. She was disturbed by the fact that Jenna didn't look up when the door opened, and even more concerned when her sister didn't even look up when Lily joined her on the bed.

Jenna's senses were dull. Her entire world consisted of pain and shock. Last night kept playing over in her mind, leaving the poor girl with no solace. She felt dirty---not just because she had been violated, but also because she's been violated by a demon! Surely, no one in the human world would want her after that! It wasn't like anyone but her sister had truly cared before, and Lily was so young… their father would have her seeing things his way eventually.

She was only dimly aware of the small hands that gently untangled her azure tresses, only took slight notice of the beautiful red ribbon that Lily used to tie it up, but painfully aware of the way her sister gasped in horror when the hair was tied up, and the lacerations on her neck were plain to see.

"Jenna, what happened to you?"

Jenna thanked God for the fact that Lily was too young to see the obvious signs of rape. Even so, the teen couldn't hide the fact that she was hurt, not when it was so obvious, and certainly not from Lily, who had an uncanny ability to know impossible things.

Such as, she did right now.

"It wasn't a human that hurt you,"

"Very observant, my dear" said the demon. His amulet was glowing.

Before she stopped to think, Jenna pushed Lily off of the bed, jumped off, and shoved her sister under it." It's enough that you got me; I won't let you near my sister. She's only seven"

At this point, her strength gave out; she could no longer stay on her feet. Jenna still managed to move enough that she could and did place her own body between Lily and the demon. It was an admirable act, but it had no chance of stopping the demon. He simply punched his wife in the face with all of the force of a hurricane. Jenna heard the bones in her head snap. It was a mortal injury, and she knew it, but she did not get the luxury of instant death.

Instead, she had to watch, as the demon didn't even bother to touch Lily. Between life and death, Jenna saw Lily's soul go flying into the amulet. She had to listen to him, as he told her, "Your sister's soul is one of the most potent I have ever taken in. Her power will fuel me for quite some time, but I'm afraid that a soul without a body is rather tasteless. I want a balanced meal, so I think I'll try a soul without a body."

By this time, Jenna had truly died, and become a ghost. The sight of Lily's soulless body fading into dust troubled her. More disturbing still was the sight of the demon eating her own body, especially when she saw the pieces of herself that were stuck in his teeth.

"Hi, B, Uh, um –Jenna, Hop on" said a girl who had appeared out of nowhere, on an oar of all things. The girl was dressed oddly too. She wore a green robe with sleeves so wide that they fell to her ankles. A stiff belt, tied in the back with a stiff ribbon held the robe closed.

Jenna screamed, she couldn't handle another demon. And what had the girl started to call her.

The girl noticed her charge's reaction, "Oh I'm sorry. I'm Kiara, one of the guides to the underworld. Master Koenma told me to pick you up and take you to him." Kiara fidgeted, "He also really doesn't like to be kept waiting so hop on."

. After her stressful death, it was a relief to have someone tell her what to do. Besides Kiara seemed nice, even if she was worried about this Koenma's reaction, she wasn't forcing her to get on, so Jenna floated on to the oar and sat right next to Kiara. The underworld guide took off at a speed that would have left Jenna breathless, if she had still been capable of breathing.


	3. Chapter 3

Yusuke was worried about Botan. She had thrashed out at him while he was carrying her, and he had started to fear that she would hurt herself. The ferry girl had calmed down somewhat after he'd put her on the couch. She had still been shaking and whimpering, caught in the throws of a nightmare, but her tremors were finally dieing down. Satisfied that Botan was not going to hurt herself, he took the time to read the note form his mother that had been on the counter.

It read, _Yusuke, I will be out of town for a few days. Take care of yourself. Love, Mom._ It was typical Atsuko behavior, and though it annoyed him, it was a relief to know that she wouldn't be here to ask awkward questions about Botan's presence. Yusuke directed his focus back to his unconscious friend. He did not like what he saw.

It was true that Botan had stopped trembling, but she was lying painfully still, and her face was completely colorless. The figure on his mother's couch was a far cry from the energetic person he knew so well. "She looks dead," he thought to himself.

"She_ is_ dead, detective"

The emotions of the dream had been so strong that the jagan had noticed them without Hiei wanting it to. Her terror frightened him, not least because he was all too familiar with that feeling of not being valued.

"I forgot," Said Yusuke, as he looked into the refrigerator. It was empty, just as he'd thought it would be. "Hiei, I gotta run to the store, Mom's gone for a few days, and she didn't leave any food. Will you stay here please; I don't want Botan to be alone when she wakes up, not after something that scared her that bad."

"I'm no one's baby-sitter, Detective."

"Thanks" Yusuke was out the door immediately.

, Hiei made no move to get off the windowsill. He was curious as to what had affected the ferry girl, and although he'd never admit it, the fact that Yusuke trusted him meant a great deal to him, even if he wasn't sure that he deserved it.

Botan began to stir. At first, Hiei thought that she was going to start thrashing again, but she merely moved one hand to touch the ribbon in her hair. "Poor Lily," she whispered. "Maybe Hiei is right to keep his distance from his sister."

Hiei nearly fell off the windowsill. How many times had Botan given Yukina hints as to his true relationship with her? Besides that, it didn't fit that the bubbly girl would ever condone distance between people. A brief look at the ferry girl confirmed the fact that she was still dreaming.

Jenna was awed by the palace. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed creatures, with horns and blue skin frantically rearranging things. She wondered what they were and what they were doing, but didn't have time to stare. Kiara walked through the halls at such a pace that it was all Jenna could do to keep up with her.

Finally, the guide stopped in front of a large desk that seemed to have no one at it. "Master Koenma," she said. "I've brought Botan here".

"Very well," The speaker was a small child, not even half Lily's age.  
"That's Master Koenma?" Jenna had to struggle to keep from laughing aloud.

The toddler heaved a sigh, "Always the same reaction. I do rule here, you know. I deserve some respect."

Jenna curtsied, "I am sorry, sir. I did not mean to offend."

"It wasn't unexpected, and frankly, I'm relieved that you can still laugh after what just happened to you. You'll be perfect for your job. Kiara, you can start training Botan in the morning."

"Botan?"

"That's your name, your soul name."

"I like it"

Botan allowed Kiara to lead her to a small room in a side corridor. After the guide left, she noticed that there was a pink robe, much like the green one Kiara wore, neatly folded on the side of the luxurious bed. She was tired, so she took off her clothing, and went directly to sleep.

She awoke early the next morning, to discover that her old clothes had disappeared. She'd been out of it yesterday, so it was something of a shock to discover that this body lacked all of the damage her so-called husband inflicted. She was still wearing Lily's ribbon, but the only real clothing in the room was the pink robe she'd seen yesterday, and she had no idea how to put it on.

Luckily, Kiara entered the room while Botan was staring at her clothes. "Here, let me help you with that kimono" she said. Botan nodded meekly, and Kiara had her clothed in a trice. She marched her charge to the mirror so Botan could see what she looked like. "It suits you," she said.

It did. The kimono looked better on her than had any of the clothing she had owned during her lifetime. Even so, after more than fifteen years of western clothing, wearing that proved extremely awkward. Botan didn't have much time to dwell on the clothing though, as Kiara immediately started her training in ferrying souls.

Once she had learned to read, the skills came easily. She quickly came to love flying, and developed a friendship with Koenma and everyone else in the spirit world. Even more importantly, she had a real talent for getting difficult ghosts to come to judgment willingly. Within fifty years of her death, all of the memories of her life as Jenna had faded away. Botan did know that she had once been human, all of the Ferry girls had, but for all intents and purposes, she was and had always been the cheerful grim reaper that nobody could resist, and if she heard the families of the departed cursing her, she never showed it. When her charges insulted her, she kept on smiling. They needed her to.

She came back to full consciousness with a start. Five-hundred years had passed since her death, and until now, she had remembered nothing of it. Now, she not only remembered the extremely violent way she had died, but her murderer was still at large. And he had recognized her instantly!

Before she knew what she was doing, one of her hands was at her throat. She half expected her skin to be torn to shreds, but it was smooth. Of course, it was, she was being silly to think that wounds which had vanished centuries ago, would be there now.

The door opened, and Botan jumped. Had Lily come here for a repeat of the drama? She shook herself, that was stupid; Lily'd disappeared at the same time that Jenna died. It could still be her killer; he'd looked at her with much the same cold lust in his eyes that had so repulsed her when she first met him.  
"Baka, ferry Onna, It's just the detective."

Or it could be Yusuke. She had to smile at her own folly. This was his house, after all.

It was Yusuke indeed. How he had managed to open the door was anyone's guess as both arms were filled with groceries. He was silent as he put them away. It had been necessary for him to go pretty far from his apartment, not one of the shopkeepers nearby would sell to the punk.

Once he'd finally found a store that would sell to him, he got what he needed ad headed home. Well, that was the plan. As soon as he had left the shop, Koenma had appeared out of nowhere and told him that the mission was not complete until they had the thieves' ringleader either dead or in custody. He then expounded on the fact that this youkai was a particularly nasty character.

"He's not only a thief, but a murderer. Actually, he's a soul-sucker, much like Gouki was, only as far as anyone can tell, he gets the energy some other way, he certainly does not physically eat souls.

Teenage girls are his favorite prey, and he picks those who aren't likely to be missed. It makes him hard to track, but I have proof that he's taken seven girls in the last year alone. Don't worry about their souls; Botan will be with you to take them to their final rest. Now, give me the item you recovered before it breaks."

The item happened to be in Yusuke's pocket. He'd forgotten all about that due to his worry about Botan. For once, he did not even insist on knowing the treasures name, but willingly handed it to his boss and went home.

Once there, he occupied himself with putting his purchases away, but eventually he ran out of them. Having stalled as long as possible, he told Hiei and Botan that they had to go after the demon from earlier. There was considerable venom in the detective's voice as he relayed the few facts their boss had given him. He absolutely hated soul-suckers.

There was no reaction from either of his friends. "Botan, you sure you're up for it? You were pretty out of it earlier."

"I had a rest, so I'm fine now. Besides, those poor girls! They really need a guide. Besides, it's not like I'm going to be fighting, that's your job, so go kick demon butt!

"It's not til tomorrow. Koenma said that he'd set up a portal in the park to take us to Makai."

Hiei's eyes glittered. He would get to go home!

"I'll go tell the others, then." Botan summoned her oar and was off, unaware of the small fire demon that followed her. (Only because it was something to do---Hiei certainly wasn't following her because he was worried)

Kurama was eating dinner with his family. They were talking, and laughing, and in general having a good time. Botan had to suppress a pang of envy at witnessing the every-day scene. _She'd _never experienced a comfortable family meal in her life. (Or afterlife)

She hovered above the house for a while, always making sure that nobody would see her. Hiei had to give the ferry onna some credit. She was at least as good at staying out of sight as he was.

At last, the kitsune retired to his bedroom. Botan wasted no time in telling him about their mission. If the words poured from her lips in a jumbled stream, he thought nothing of it. Botan always spoke quickly.

With a jaunty wave, she left the room and flew off the Kuwabara residence. At least here, she didn't have to wait. Shizuru knew all about her brother's job, and her own physic powers made her attuned to him in a way that meant there could be no secrets from her.

"It's much the same way that Lily was tuned to me. I bet she could have been a physic if she had been allowed to grow up"

The ferry girl gave both siblings the mission briefing, before Shizuru turned her away for a little girl talk.

"Something's bothering you"

Of course, Shizuru was also attuned to other people's moods.

"Oh, It's nothing" Botan's cheery smile was convincing, so the other girl let the matter drop.

Kuwabara chose that moment to interrupt. "A soul sucker, that sounds scary. Not that I can't handle it. But, I'm wondering, what happens to souls after they're swallowed."

"Depending on the strength of the soul, and the need of the demon, they last anywhere from a day to a thousand years. Those that are stronger last longer, but every hour of having their strength drained is pure torture. Once the all of the strength has been absorbed, the soul is gone. They don't have the chance to be judged in the Rekai, or even to become ghosts. They cease to exist, plain and simple."

"Wow, that's awful." Kuwabara said.

"It is," Botan's tone changed. "See you tomorrow!" she chirped.

As soon as she left the Kuwabara residence, Botan allowed her smile to fade from her face. Answering the question about souls had left her in turmoil. She wondered how strong Lily had been. "I hope there's still a chance of judgment for her, but I hope she didn't suffer long. She should not have had to suffer at all, If only I'd been stronger, I could have protected her. I did promise her I would."

Flashback.

Little Lily was shaking, but not from cold. She was hiding in the stable. Voices, so many of them. All confused, all dead, all scary. She had no doubt that if she went to her father for protection, he'd say that she was being a bad girl to make up stories about voices. Her mother wouldn't listen; she'd been too frail for much since Lily's birth. Her nurse, Tasha was dead now, her sister had gone to the thing at church where a people put a dead person into a box in ground, and the people around it cried. She didn't know why they were putting Tasha in a box. The dead did not come back to their bodies, so hiding the body from the spirit was stupid. Tasha had always agreed with Lily about that, even if she had insisted on being the only one Lily told about the voices,

"Lily, are you there?" At first, the three year old thought that the call came from another of the voices, but she caught a glimpse of blue.

"Jenna, the voices! There are so many!

"I know, Lily, I know."

When Lily was first born, their mother made Jenna promise to protect her sister. Mother was frail, and couldn't be there to keep her daughters from the dangers of the world. They'd been lucky to find Tasha for a nurse; Tasha had cared about the girls as if they were her own. However, Tasha was dead now; she could no longer take care of them. Even though she was only twelve, it was now up to Jenna to look after Lily's wellbeing.

Tasha had been something of a witch. When her health had begun to fail, she'd taken Jenna aside and told her to watch out for Lily. She'd said that lily was stronger than she was and much more sensitive, especially to the dead. The nurse had told Jenna that when people died, part of them remained, and the ghosts spent their time begging to be heard.

There had been plenty of death in the village as of late. Jenna was not surprised that Lily was overwhelmed. She scooped her sister into a tight embrace. "I'm here, I can't stop you from hearing them, but I can keep them from taking over. I'm here for you and that's a promise. Now, let's go home."

End flashback

Botan sighed. She had promised to protect Lily from the supernatural. She'd failed. Lily had lost her life taking care of her.

"Some big sister I was," She thought sarcastically.


End file.
